Brock Purdy struggled vs. Broncos, then he bolstered his NFL MVP case - Niners Wire
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy wasn't perfect Sunday vs. the Denver Broncos, but he did everything he needed to to bolster his way-too-early MVP case.
The NFL MVP race typically comes down to the final month or so and which of the best quarterbacks among the top teams is playing the best. Talking about Purdy's MVP case in October could be rendered useless with one high-profile stumble late in the year. Word to Christmas Day 2023.
However, if we're having the conversation about which player in the NFL is the league's MVP frontrunner after Week 4, it's hard not to circle the 49ers signal caller. He made his case in a big way Sunday vs. the Denver Broncos.
It wasn't Purdy's best game of the year. In fact, it was his worst by a pretty significant margin. And he still came away without a turnover, didn't take a sack, completed 63.3 percent of his throws, averaged 7.3 yards per pass attempt and was nearly perfect from the 9:40 mark in the fourth quarter onward.
When Broncos punt returner Marvin Mims fumbled and 49ers gunner Siran Neal scooped it up at the Denver 28, Purdy took the field without a completion in two second-half drives. He was 10-of-20 for 89 yards overall and the 49ers offense ran six plays for four yards in the third quarter prior to the Mims fumble.
Then the switch flipped. From the 9:40 mark on he went 9-of-10 for 129 yards and two touchdowns. The 49ers scored every time they had the ball until kneeling out the clock on their final possession. Purdy's numbers got help from a 56-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown by George Kittle on a screen pass, but he was in total control with the game hanging in the balance.
On third-and-goal after the Mims fumble he couldn't find a receiver open. He started to roll out left, then he moved like he would try and run for it, but instead pulled back off the line of scrimmage and found a wide open Samuel for a one-yard TD pass.
The 49ers defense allowed a field goal on Denver's ensuing drive to make it 10-6. Purdy took the field with 14:03 to go. San Francisco needed a scoring drive from their QB and they got it. The drive started when Purdy rolled left eluded two defenders, peeled back, set his feet and hit fullback Kyle Juszczyk for a 16-yard gain. It was a vintage Purdy play that kickstarted a nine-play, 69-yard drive. Purdy was a perfect four-of-four for 50 yards, including a strike to wide receiver Mike Evans on a designed rollout left that might've gone for a touchdown if Evans wasn't nursing a rib injury. Two plays later San Francisco was in the end zone and leading 17-6 with 8:55 left in the game.
Denver scored a touchdown to cut the lead to 17-14, which led to the screen to Kittle that put the 49ers up 24-14 and ultimately put Sunday's game away.
Purdy was not his best self in the first 36 minutes or so. He looked indecisive at times and uncomfortable against a very strong Broncos pass rush. That's a thing that happens to NFL quarterbacks. They're not going to play without adversity every week. Sometimes that adversity is going to be overwhelming and it's going to lead the league's most accurate passer to complete only half of his first 20 throws.
What Purdy did Sunday is what MVPs do when they run into the obstacles that inevitably crop up throughout the course of an 18-week NFL season. When the Broncos left the door cracked open with a giveaway, Purdy and the 49ers kicked the door down. The 49ers with a battered, inexperienced receiving corps, needed their quarterback to come up with some plays. They got every one they needed for the final 24 minutes to secure a 24-14 victory and become one of three undefeated teams left in the NFL.
There's no defined criteria every voter follows for the NFL MVP award. Numbers matter. Team success matters. But there's also a narrative case that undeniably comes into play. Scoring three consecutive touchdowns to pull away from a Super Bowl hopeful with one of the NFL's best defenses is the kind of story that helps build a non-empirical case people inevitably rely on when it comes time to vote.
Sunday was Purdy's worst game of the season overall, but his ability to overcome his own and the team's offensive struggles to play at his best every time the game was on the line only helps his MVP case.
More 49ers: 49ers vs. Broncos: Notes, observations from ugly San Francisco win
